I've judged a few writing contests. The advice in this article is sound. The contests I judged waited until the contest was closed before distributing the submissions, so suggestion number one didn't apply, but I would always assume the opposite when submitting to be safe.

Interesting question. I've found that my writing is different when I write by hand versus writing on the computer. I don't know that's it more creative, but I've found it helpful to switch off, especially when I'm stuck or confused about my writing.

I'm definitely going to put some of these into action this summer. I love the idea of sitting on the patio with my cup of coffee in the morning planning my day. And stretching - oh, yes, the stretching really helps recharge!

I personally know Amber and have found her creatively logical mind to be a inspirational fountain of ideas. Anything she recommends, I'm going to try! I loved graphing equations in school. Why not attempt to graph my novel?

Coffitivity: If you find you are more creative in a coffee shop, Coffitivity will give you the coffee shop sounds without the high price of the coffee. "A gentle murmur to get the day started." @Coffitivity

Organization and Inspiration

Writing resources, author blogs, illustrator sites - I'm listing the ones I like here so I can keep track of them. Links are below in this column - scroll down. Websites about writing & Writer Resources have moved to a separate page. See tab below headline.

I hope that you find these resources useful. If not, thanks for stopping by anyway! Feel free to recommend a site I haven't discovered.